Beverly Sills

Bess Myerson, the former beauty queen, television personality and New York politician who spent four decades in the public eye before her glamorous image was tarnished by scandal, has died. She was 90.

Myerson died Dec. 14 at her home in Santa Monica. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office confirmed her death, which was not publicly announced.

Myerson was an aspiring pianist in 1945 when she became the first Jewish Miss America and a symbol of ethnic pride for Jews emerging from the brutal realities of World War II. She went on to a career as a game show hostess and panelist before entering political life in the 1960s.

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Bess Myerson, the former beauty queen, television personality and New York politician who spent four decades in the public eye before her glamorous image was tarnished by scandal, has died. She was 90.
Myerson died Dec. 14 at her home in Santa Monica....